Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke and five other Baldwin-Wallace teammates were named to the 2011 Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference squad.

O’Rourke, who carries a 3.65 grade point average in education, is earning his first Academic All-OAC honor. He is a member of the Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society, Dean’s List and was a Capital One Academic All-District IV selection.

O’Rourke has been the starting quarterback for the past two seasons and served as one of four team captains this season. This season, he completed 129 of 221 passes for 1,611 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. O’Rourke also has rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown.

For his career, he has completed 248 of 434 passes for 57.1 percent for 3,124 yards with 28 touchdowns. O’Rourke has been twice selected as the OAC Offensive Player of the Week.

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The game featured 82 points and 843 yards of total offense. With its win, Baldwin-Wallace improved to 8-2 overall and finishes second during the OAC regular season with a 7-2 record.

The victory returns the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy to B-W and Berea for the first time since 2008 and gives the Yellow Jackets a 24-23-4 all-time series lead and a 12-11 advantage in the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy series.

Tied at 14, B-W regained the lead at 21-14 as Midview graduate Josiah Holt scored on a 5-yard run to cap a 6-play and 53-yard drive in 3:20.

Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke ran 9 times for 67 yards and completed 6 of 9 passes for 87 yards.

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The second-ranked University of Mount Union football team scored a late fourth quarter touchdown to rally and defeat Baldwin-Wallace College, 25-20 on Saturday in an Ohio Athletic Conference game at Mount Union Stadium.

The Purple Raiders clinched their 20th straight OAC title, won their 61st straight regular season game and improved to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the OAC. B-W is now 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the OAC and ends its regular season next Saturday when it hosts cross-town rival John Carroll University in the Annual Battle for the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl Trophy on Tressel Field at The George Finnie Stadium at 1:30 p.m.

Elyria’s Tyler Almeida connected on a 26-yard field goal and a 25-yarder as time expired in the second quarter to give the Purple Raiders a 6-0 lead at halftime.

Down 19-0, Midview’s Josiah Holt returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown with 4:19 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was the third career kick return score for Holt.

B-W continued to cut into the lead when junior quarterback Andrew Dziak scored on a three-yard touchdown run at 14:53 of the fourth quarter. Mohler tacked on the extra point to cut the lead to 19-14.

B-W took its first lead of the game when Dziak scored his second touchdown of the game on an one-yard dash with 5:53 left in the game. The two point conversion by Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke gave the Yellow Jackets a 20-19 advantage. The lead by the Yellow Jackets marked the first time the Purple Raiders trailed in a game since September 10, 2009 when Capital University lead the Purple Raiders 21-14 early in the fourth quarter.

The Purple Raiders won the game when Denton caught his second touchdown pass of the game on a 29-yard pass play from Piloto on a fourth down and 11-yards to go play with 2:14 remaining.

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UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The Cuyahoga Gold Bowl is staying in John Carroll for another year.

Despite coming back from 24-7 deficit, Balwin-Wallace’s comeback attempt came up short, falling for the third-straight season to John Carroll, 31-28 in the annual Cuyahoga Gold Bowl game on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Don Shula Stadium.

Quarterback Ryan O’Rourke led the Yellow Jackets down the field in the last 4:38 for a 12-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off by a Kyrell Cook 1-yard TD run to cut the deficit to three with 1:04 left in the game.

However, the ensuing on-side kick attempt was recovered by John Carroll, who then ran out the clock for the season-finale win.

"It was a pretty exciting for us and our seniors, everybody is ecstatic," O’Brien said.

Baldwin-Wallace found itself down early, but fought back, as its slim playoff hopes would’ve been still alive with a win.

However, tailback DaQuan Grobsmith and quarterback Devin O’Brien had other ideas. Grobsmith rushed for three touchdowns and a career-high 189 yards on 20 carries, while O’Brien rushed for 120 yards on 19 carries.

John Carroll wasted no time, scoring on its first possession. A 47-yard reception by Frank Ross from O’Brien was the key play as Grobsmith capped it off with a 9-yard TD run to give John Carroll an early 7-0 lead.

Baldwin-Wallace answered back on a third-down-and-seven play. O’Rourke was chased out of the pocket and hounded by two defenders before throwing a jump pass to the sideline of the end zone to a jumping Aaron Hurd, who hauled it in before going out of bounds. After D.J. Debick picked off an O’Rourke pass on B-W’s next possession, Grobsmith was able to bully his way in from 4-yards out to score his second touchdown of the first quarter for a 14-7 lead.

Grobsmith added his third touchdown in the second quarter on a 8-yard TD run, pushing the lead to 21-7.

"This was huge for us," John Carroll head coach Regis Scafe said. "This was a good way to end the year and set the tone for next year. (B-W) is a good football team. This was no gimme victory. We had to earn this thing. Our kids played their hearts out and I’m really proud of them."

Despite a four-win improvement from last year, B-W head coach John Snell didn’t expect to lose.

"It was a very disappointing loss," Snell said. "I really thought we were in a position to finish the season at 8-2 and have a possible playoff opportunity depending on what else happened in the conference, but we didn’t get it done. We didn’t play well enough in the first half and didn’t take advantage of our opportunities and had too many penalties that cost us. You can’t do that against a team like John Carroll."

After a Brad Marchese 19-yard field goal to take a 24-7 lead, B-W used some trickery to try to cut the deficit before halftime. O’Rourke lateralled to Anthony Fairhurst, who then threw across the field, connecting on a 41-yard TD pass to Cook. That cut the deficit to 24-14 going into halftime.

A Kevin Johnson 62-yard kickoff return to open the second half set up another score to cut the deficit to three. O’Rouke scored on a 6-yard quarterback keeper to keep the Yellow Jackets in the game.

B-W’s defense did its job on the Blue Streaks’ first possession in the second half. On a fourth-and-four in B-W territory, O’Brien’s pass was knocked away and B-W took over on downs and halted a potential scoring drive.

"It’s awful (coming up short)," said O’Rourke, an Avon graduate and 2008 Lorain County Golden Helmet Award winner. "8-2 sounded really good and now we’re 7-3 and it’s obviously not what we wanted, but there were some key mistakes in the game by me.

"We had a great turn around. Nobody expected us to do anything good this year, but we had four more wins than they had last year. We wish we could’ve send the seniors out a better way, but it was a good season."

However, B-W was unable to capitalize and on the following John Carroll possession, Frank Ross scored on a 5-yard TD run that capped off a 9-play, 74 yard drive, to make it 31-21.

B-W used some more trickery, this time with Danny Reineck taking a handoff, then threw downfield to Aaron Manders, who out jumped his defender and pulled in the 42-yard catch. The big play didn’t pay dividends as kicker Kevin Pollock missed to the left on a 30-yard field goal attempt on a fourth-and-20.

"Overall, it’s been an awfully good year," Snell said. "Our kids have done a great job, our seniors have done a great job, considering the season that we had last year. They’ve done a great job getting us back on track. The hope and plan is we can build from here and keep getting better. I’m proud of our kids for having this kind of season."

J.J. Laseak and Ryan Kish led the Yellow Jackets defense. Laseak had 11 tackles, while Kish had 10.

"We just got down early," Kish said. "Once we adjusted, we were fine, but we dug ourselves a hole. We left everything out there and it was a lot of fun. I wish we would’ve came out on top, but we still went 7-3 after going 3-7 last year. It was a really fun year."

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Transferring isn’t always easy.

For former Lorain County Golden Helmet Award winner Ryan O’Rourke, he made it look just that.

After playing in six games as a true freshman at Slippery Rock (Division II) last season, he transferred to Baldwin-Wallace (D-III) and has excelled beyond expectations through nine games this year.

On the season, the Yellow Jackets boast a 7-2 record, after going 3-7 last season. O’Rourke, an Avon graduate, has started all nine games and completed 102 of 187 passes for 1,352 yards, including 15 touchdowns. His quarterback efficiency is 132.12.

"I knew I had to prove myself, coming down from D-II to D-III," O’Rourke said. "I had a lot of preparation coming into the season. I just let that do the talking. We’ve had a good season so far, but we’ve let two slip away."

Despite playing six games, including two starts last year at Slippery Rock, O’Rourke says he feels more comfortable at B-W.

"Obviously, the offenses are different," said O’Rourke, who completed 23 of 51 passes for 324 yards, including two TDs at Slippery Rock. "It’s a lot more fun and suitable here for me. Nothing against Slippery Rock or anything, but I love my teammates here and I can’t wait to keep playing with these guys two more years."

The Yellow Jackets have only two losses this season. Beside a 41-21 loss to Ohio Northern four weeks ago, B-W’s only other loss came against the nation’s second-ranked team in Division III Mount Union, 41-13 last Saturday. B-W gave it all it could against the Purple Raiders, even being tied 13-13 after one quarter and being down just 20-13 at halftime, but Mount Union scored 28 unanswered points to put the game and Ohio Athletic Conference title away.

"We knew we had a good chance and felt we could compete against them," O’Rourke said. "The intensity was there in the first half, but we let it slip in the second. They had some long drives and we had some turnovers. That’s not a good mix."

O’Rourke completed 12 of 22 passes for 166 yards with a TD but was picked off three times.

"They chose to tighten up a little and send more pressure," O’Rourke said. "I knew I was going to take some shots, but I just had to stand in there and deliver some throws.

"It’s frustrating because we were in it really until early in the fourth quarter. We’re a young offense. We let some mistakes get the better of us. We can’t let that happen."

O’Rourke is pleased with his first season at B-W and looks forward to playing two more years.

Earlier this season, O’Rourke was chosen the Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week as he shined in his very first game with B-W. He completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards and threw three touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Wooster. He threw TD passes of 40-, 59-, and 19-yards.

He then topped that performance on Oct. 23 against Wilmington College when he threw four touchdown passes in a 38-0 win over the Quakers. He completed 19 of 26 passes for 259 yards, including the four scores.

O’Rourke broke almost every passing record at Avon and set Lorain County records for touchdowns in a season and a career, until this year when Elyria Catholic’s Danny Reaser broke it. His senior season, he threw for 2,374 yards and 33 touchdowns and led Avon to a 12-1 season, which included two playoff wins before losing its only game to Sunbury Big Walnut in the D-III regional final. He also received the Lorain County Golden Helmet Award, All-Ohio First Team and All-District Offensive Player of the Year, among other accolades.

Baldwin-Wallace will improve last year’s win total by five games if they defeat John Carroll at Don Shula Stadium on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

BEREA — It was the classic tale of two halves.

In an intense battle for an Ohio Athletic Conference title, it was a strong second-half by Mount Union that surged the Purple Raiders past Baldwin-Wallace, winning their 100th consecutive road game in a 41-13 defeat over the Yellow Jackets at George Finnie Stadium in Berea.

With the win, Mount Union earned at least a share of its 19th-straight conference title (22nd overall). The win also gets the Purple Raiders an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Before the game, the teams couldn’t contain their excitement and had to be separated after a pre-game scuffle took place. The intensity carried on and the first quarter brought plenty of action as both teams scored two touchdowns each and the game was knotted up at 13.

Midview’s Josiah Holt returned the opening kickoff 45 yards, but a B-W penalty backed the ball back to the 20-yard line. After three-straight runs by Tim Miker, quarterback Ryan O’Rourke went to the air, throwing a 50-yard touchdown bomb to Kevin Johnson to take an early 7-0 lead. That was the largest deficit Mount Union has had all season.

"We felt good about ourselves scoring in the first try," B-W head coach John Snell said. "We’re not in it for moral victories. We wanted to come away with a win. We did a lot of good things. The game seemed closer than what the score indicates, but we wanted to win."

Mount Union wasted no time as Cecil Shorts returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to knot the score quickly at 7.

"That was the biggest play of the game right there," Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said. "(Shorts) is an irreplaceable player. When he’s playing, the game changes for the defense. He’s a huge factor."

Shorts was making a return after missing four weeks with an ankle injury.

"Four weeks not playing was killing me inside," said Shorts, who led Mount Union with three touchdowns. "I just wanted to get back out there and contribute in some type of way for the team."

O’Rourke was intercepted on the next possession by Jordan and although Mount Union had a nice drive going, a Jeremy Murray 18-yard run went for naught as he fumbled at the 2-yard line. B-W’s Brandon Russo recovered the fumble to halt the drive.

Mount Union’s defense then stopped the Yellow Jackets to a three-and-out before Seaman delivered a jump ball to Miller, who caught the touchdown in the back of the end zone. B-W blocked the extra-point attempt by Elyria's Tyler Almeida as Mount Union led, 13-7.

After a 49-yard kickoff return by Kevin Johnson, O’Rourke orchestrated a 6-play 50-yard drive that was capped off by a Miker 1-yard TD run. Kicker Brad Pollock’s PAT went wide left and that tied the score at 13 at the 1:18 mark of the first quarter. The TD was Miker’s seventh of the season.

After a B-W defensive stop late in the second quarter, Mount Union caught a break when Ryan Dugan fumbled a punt near the 10-yard line. Quarterback Neal Seaman made the Yellow Jackets pay on the first play, throwing a 12-yard TD pass to Kyle Miller for a 20-13 lead.

The momentum carried forward as Mount Union mounted a 6-play, 71-yard drive to open up the second half, capped off by Shorts’ third touchdown of the game. Seaman delivered a 16-yard TD pass to the back of the end zone and Shorts hauled it in. After an Almeida extra-point, Mount Union grabbed a 27-13 lead.

B-W had a chance to cut the two-touchdown deficit to seven late in the third quarter, but on fourth-down-and-inches, O’Rourke pitched to Miker, who attempted to throw in the end zone to Aaron Manders, but two Purple Raider defenders were there to break it up.

Mount Union’s defense held the Yellow Jackets scoreless for the last three quarters and recorded six sacks and three interceptions. Lambert Budzinski picked up sacks on back-to-back plays. Charles Dieuseul also added three sacks.

"We wanted to keep that bend, but don’t break mentality," Budzinski said. "We knew it was going to be a tight game. The score doesn’t reflect how physical and how hard hitting the game really was. In the second half, we didn’t make a lot of changes. We just stuck to our game plan and went with what we knew and what we expected them to do and it really payed off."

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Baldwin-Wallace scored 20 unanswered points in the second half as it defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Muskingum University, 27-16, on Saturday at McConagha Stadium in New Concord.

With the win, the Yellow Jackets improved to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the OAC and reached the seven-win plateau for the first time since 2006. B-W is now tied for second place with No.12-ranked Ohio Northern University at 6-1 in the OAC and one game behind first place Mount Union (8-0, 7-0 OAC).

B-W piled up 211 total yards on the ground, including 100-plus yard games from North Ridgeville’s John McGraw and Parma Senior’s Tim Miker.

In the first quarter, B-W opened up the scoring at the 10:36 mark when Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke connected on a 27-yard touchdown pass to cap a 6-play, 84-yard drive. The key play on the drive was 41-yard completion on third down from O’Rourke.

O’Rourke threw his second touchdown of the game to Ashland’s Anthony Fairhurst on the first play of the fourth quarter.

B-W was led offensively by McGraw who carried the ball 19 times for 125 yards. Through the air, O’Rourke was 9 of 19 passing for 147 yards including three TD passes.

Elyria’s Mitch Tulk had three tackles for loss totaling 14 lost yards.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke threw four touchdown passes, leading Baldwin-Wallace to an Ohio Athletic Conference shutout over Wilmington College on Tressel Field at The George Finnie Stadium.

O’Rourke completed 19 of 26 passes for 259 yards and the four TDs, and the Yellow Jacket offense outgained the Quakers, 433-145.

B-W opened the scoring at 4:40 mark of the first quarter when O’Rourke threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Tiffin Columbian’s Aaron Hurd to cap a 6-play, 54-yard drive.

B-W increased its lead to 14-0 when O’Rourke threw a 28-yard TD pass to Devin Woods (Naples, Fla./ Golden Gate) on a ball that deflected off of a Wilmington players hands.

B-W’s lead grew to 24-0 before halftime when O’Rourke threw his third TD pass of the game, this one a 23-yarder to junior Dan Turner (Youngstown/Ursuline).

O’Rourke tossed his career-high fourth TD pass to Westerville North’s Troy Van Meter, who caught a career-high nine passes for 113 yards.

North Ridgeville’s John McGraw led the running game with 59 yards in 11 attempts.

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Baldwin-Wallace lost to Ohio Athletic Conference rival and 13th-ranked Ohio Northern University, 41-21 at Dial-Roberson Stadium in Ada. The loss snapped a five-game Yellow Jacket win streak.

With its win, Ohio Northern is now 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the OAC. The Yellow Jackets are now 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the OAC.

Down 7-0, Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to St. Ignatius’ Kevin Johnson to tie the game at 7.

Down 14-7, O’Rourke scored on a 7-yard TD run, capping a 13-play, 60-yard drive.
Ohio Northern then scored 21-straight points to close out the half with a 35-14 lead.
In the third quarter, North Ridgeville’s John McGraw scored on a 1-yard TD run, capping a 12 play 93-yard drive, making the score 35-21.

O’Rourke completed 12 of 23 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown. McGraw rushed for 44 yards and one TD. Midview’s Josiah Holt caught four passes for 33 yards.

On defense, Amherst’s Ryan Kish led the Yellow Jackets with nine tackles and two tackles for loss.

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Midview’s Josiah Holt returned one of two kickoffs and Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke threw for a touchdown as Baldwin-Wallace pulled out a one-point victory over Ohio Athletic Conference rival Otterbein University, 35-34 Saturday on Tressel Field at The George Finnie Stadium.

With the Yellow Jackets trailing 34-28, B-W went on an 8-play, 59-yard game-winning drive that was capped when Parma’s Tim Miker scored on a 23-yard run to tie the score at 34-34. Then, following an Otterbein timeout, Brecksville’s Brad Pollock kicked the game-winning point for the win.

With its victory, B-W is now 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the OAC. The 5-0 start is B-W’s first since 2004.

The Yellow Jackets opened the scoring in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead when O’Rourke threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Edison’s Josh Oswald.

Holt returned a kickoff 90 yards for the third kick return for a touchdown of the game. That gave the Yellow Jackets a 21-20 lead.

The Yellow Jackets were led offensively by Miker with 70 rushing yards in 10 attempts, including the game-tying TD, North Ridgeville’s John McGraw with 53 yards in 12 attempts and O’Rourke who completed 9 of 18 passes for 103 yards and a TD.

The defense was led by Amherst’s Ryan Kish, the reigning OAC Defensive Player of the Week, with nine tackles, three tackles for loss and one quarterback sack.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action next Saturday, Oct. 16 when they travel to Ada, Ohio to play 16th-ranked Ohio Northern University at Dials-Roberson Stadium at 1:30 p.m.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke completed 20 of 29 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown, while also running for another as Baldwin-Wallace remained unbeaten at 4-0 overall with a 39-9 victory on Saturday over Marietta on Tressel Field at The George Finnie Stadium in Berea.

The Yellow Jackets remained in first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 3-0 league mark.

O’Rourke put the Yellow Jackets up 16-3 with a one-yard quarterback sneak then helped extend the lead to 26-9 when he threw a 25-yard TD pass to North Ridgeville’s John McGraw.

Midview’s Josiah Holt tied for the team lead with six catches. Amherst’s Ryan Kish was the leader defensively with 12 tackles, including 2.5 quarterback sacks and 3.5 tackles for lost yardage.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke combined with junior running back Parma’s Tim Miker for 198 yards rushing as Baldwin-Wallace defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Heidelberg University, 35-20 Saturday at Mayer Field in Tiffin, improving to a perfect 3-0 this season.

O’Rourke ran for a career-high 119 yards in 10 attempts and completed 3 of 12 passes for 40 yards and a TD. Miker ran for 87 yards in 24 attempts with two TD.

Overall, B-W ran for 285 yards in 57 attempts compared to 114 for Heidelberg in 35 carries.

B-W had a 14-0 lead with 49 seconds left in the opening quarter when its defense created a turnover. On a first-and-10 play, Heidelberg quarterback Andrew Miller was dropped for a nine-yard loss by Elyria’s Sonny Hazelwood, fumbled the ball at the 25 yard line, and Amherst’s Ryan Kish picked up the loose ball and ran 23 yards for a touchdown.

B-W extended its lead to 21-0 right before halftime as O’Rourke threw a 33-yard TD pass to Aaron Manders. The TD was O’Rourke’s fourth of the season.

On defense, Hazelwood led the Yellow Jackets with six tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a caused fumble.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke and Parma Senior’s Tim Miker each ran for more than 100 yards as Baldwin-Wallace defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Heidelberg University, 35-20 at Mayer Field in Tiffin on Saturday.

The win improves the Yellow Jackets to a perfect 3-0.

O’Rourke ran for a career-high 119 yards in 10 attempts and completed 3 of 12 passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. Miker ran for 101 yards in 24 attempts with two TDs. Overall, B-W ran for 285 yards in 57 attempts compared to 114 for Heidelberg in 35 carries.

On a 1st-and-10 play, Heidelberg senior quarterback Andrew Miller was dropped for nine-yard loss by Elyria’s Sonny Hazelwood, fumbled the ball at the 25 yard line, and Amherst’s Ryan Kish picked up the loose ball and ran 23 yards for a TD.

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Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke was named this week’s Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in last Thursday’s 38-14 season-opening victory against The College of Wooster at The George Finnie Stadium in Berea.

O’Rourke, who transferred to B-W from NCAA Division III Slippery Rock University last winter, completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns in his first game as a Yellow Jacket. He threw TD passes of 40 yards to Keith Darbut on the first play of the game and 59 and 19 yards to Brett Jensen, who is also from Avon. O’Rourke and Jensen were both teammates at Avon and at Slippery Rock before both transferred to B-W last winter.

swalker@MorningJournal.com

Avon’s Ryan O’Rourke made an outstanding debut Thursday night, throwing three touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Wooster.

O’Rourke completed 9 of 13 passes for 154 yards, including the three scores in his first game as a Yellow Jacket.

O’Rourke, who transferred to B-W last spring from NCAA Division II Slippery Rock (Pa.) University, threw a 40-yard TD pass to Keith Darbut on the game’s first play and tossed a pair of TD passes to his former Avon and Slippery Rock teammate Brett Jensen of 59 and 19 yards, all in the first half.

Jensen finished with two catches for 78 yards and the two TDs, while North Ridgeville’s John McGraw finished with 65 yards on the ground in 13 carries. Amherst’s Ryan Kish led the defense with nine tackles.

swalker@MorningJournal.com